


Life Changes

by jbsullivan17



Series: This is How We're Meant to Be [5]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Adoption, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 20:43:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12043914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbsullivan17/pseuds/jbsullivan17
Summary: Clarke and Bellamy try to adopt Madi.





	Life Changes

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Accidental Snooping](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11876232) by [jbsullivan17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbsullivan17/pseuds/jbsullivan17). 



> Title from the country song of the same name by Thomas Rhett. His story is so sweet :)

“How long have you been with Mr. Blake?” Ms. Woods—Gaia—asked Clarke sitting in her chair with the clipboard in her lap.

Clarke smirked, she knew this was coming the moment Bellamy was late.

“Ten years. Been married for just over a year.”

“Why weren’t you married sooner?”

Clarke licked her lips, she knew it was necessary but it was still something she didn’t quite understand herself. “He wanted it to be the perfect proposal.”

“Was it?”

“Yes and no. He had it planned for my twenty-ninth birthday but his sister beat him to it, announcing her pregnancy. I found the ring a year later and it wasn’t really a proposal. We stumbled into our relationship, it just made sense that we’d stumble into an engagement and… and Madi.”

“You know we can’t guarantee that Madi will be placed with you.”

“We know,” Clarke said mournfully. She hadn’t even had Madi for more than a day and she was certain that she wanted to adopt her. Foster.

“Is that him?” Gaia asked, looking past Clarke into the rows of cubicles where Bellamy was pushing through everything to get to the office. He’s fifteen minutes late.

“Yeah. I knew he was going to be late. School gets out at three and—“

“It’s fine, I’m sure he’s dedicated to his students.”

Clarke nodded, hated being so nervous, it’s Bellamy’s thing. “He really is, he loves kids and will be great with ours, fostered or adopted or—“

“Clarke, you are doing just fine. Don’t try to impress me, just tell the truth and how you feel.”

“Okay,” Clarke sighed as Bellamy stepped into the door.

“Mr. Blake, thank you for joining us. I’m Gaia.”

“I’m sorry I’m late, one of my students had a few questions about the test I’d just handed back and—“

“Mel?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah, she’s improving, just hates eights.”

Clarke smirked, “So did I.”

Bellamy chuckled. “What’d I miss?”

“We were just discussing why you’ve been together for ten years but only married for one.”

“I couldn’t figure out how to propose.”

“You could have rolled over one morning and simply asked. No ring needed. I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to marry you.”

“Mr. Blake,” Gaia interrupted, bringing them back to the matter at hand. “Clarke and I were talking and she says she’s well aware of the fact that we cannot guarantee the placement of Madi with you but another child may be matched with you instead. Are you alright with that?”

“Every child needs a home,” he nodded. “Yes.”

“I can try to get Madi placed with you, but that’s not a promise.”

“I understand and appreciate it.”

“It’ll take a few weeks to process you and see if you are viable foster parents, that’s with me fast tracking you, and if Madi isn’t in a home by then, I’m sure she can go with you, but there’s also a home visit you’ll need to pass first. Just to see if your home is a good match as well as you guys.”

“Is there anything we should know about that? The do’s and don’t’s?” Bellamy asked.

“No drugs or alcohol or any relative paraphernalia. Her bedroom needs a closet, that’s standard in real estate since the nineties. No loose wires, no… it’s common sense, really. What you wouldn’t have your school looking like, you wouldn’t have your home looking like.”

“You have that much trust in the public school system?”

“Hell no, but it’s the same standards. Oh, and if you own a gun, we need to know and it needs to be put away in a lock box at all times at home.”

“No guns,” Clarke confirmed, knowing full well that Bellamy has a gun in the closet, something from his days in the army.

“Good, so the house call is unannounced, so be prepared in the coming weeks. Good luck,” Gaia smiled, standing to shake both of their hands before they walked out of her office and through the cubicles until they were out on the street when Bellamy glared at her.

“Really? I know you’ve been trying to get rid of it for years, so was this planned or convenient?”

“It’s an unloaded rifle that’s in pieces in a locked safe because it makes you feel unsafe.”

“I still don’t, but I trust you. Bellamy, what if she decides to play with it when we think she’s in her room doing homework and I’m making dinner?”

“We’re all dead anyway,” he smirked.

Clarke slapped his shoulder, “I’m being serious! What if she does and she puts the pieces together correctly? We can’t come back from that.”

“You’re right.”

“And I can’t—“ her voice broke, it’s the one thing she hates talking about. The one thing she hates remembering, because not only did Wells lose his mother, but Clarke lost the ability to have kids. She was only ten.

“I know. I want a family with you, Clarke, but I can be happy if it’s just you and me.”

Clarke shook her head frantically, he’d be an amazing father, he was to Octavia, there are children who deserve a man like him for a father. He’s needed in the world for them. “You should be a father,” she cried, unable to hold them back any further.

“If the universe decides we should be parents, then I will be. Clarke, I know you have this fear that I’m going to leave you because you can’t give me what I want, but before I even wanted children, I wanted you. You are what matters to me.”

“You shouldn’t have to choose.”

Her head was spinning, she didn’t know what to think, how he could love her. How he could find her beautiful after knowing what she’s been through, what she’s seen. How can people keep moving forward after so much trauma and heartache?

“I’m not. If anything, it’s a gift.”

“I’m tainted.”

“You’re beautiful, and amazing, and cynical. Fucking self-sacrificial which I absolutely hate because it kills me. You’re perfect, my princess, but you have to stop blaming yourself for something that happened to you when you were a child, for something you couldn’t help.”  
Clarke spun around, not even realizing that she’s had her back to him, in shame. She hated crying, hated feeling weak and this conversation brings out both of those in her. Bellamy took her face in his hands, bringing her to look up at him while he wiped away her tears.

“Something I don’t blame you for,” he added looking directly in her blurry eyes. She saw his truth, she saw his perpetual love for her but her cynicism got the best of her, bringing a horrible memory to the surface that had her scared of telling Bellamy the truth when they’d gotten serious.

“Finn did.”

“Finn was an undeserving ass.”

“How can you love me?”

He smiled softly, as though he’s been waiting for her to ask him since they’ve met. “Because you’re the fiercest woman I know and even with all your faults, I still find them charming,” he smiled.

Clarke scoffed through the tears, “You think you’re so charismatic, hot shot.”

“It got me you, didn’t it?”

“Mm,” she hummed, her mood brightening with his teasing tone. “Take me home and you can have me however you’d like.”

“You went from crying to horny super-fast,” he chuckled, pulling her along down the sidewalk to the subway to take them home.

* * *

 Bellamy triple checked the cereal in the shopping cart. He wanted to have the right brand and chocolate milk and fruit roll-ups. He didn’t really know what she liked but he wanted to be prepared.  
When he walked in the door, Clarke was pacing and he sighed. “Not here yet?”

“No, and they said ten, what if something happened?”

“I’m sure everything’s fine. There could be traffic or some paperwork was filled out wrong or—“ The doorbell rang and Clarke froze. “I’ll get it,” he turned around and opened the door, the groceries still in his hand.

Gaia and Madi were standing in the doorway, Madi looked nervous until she looked past Bellamy and saw Clarke, still frozen, and ran to her. Bellamy smiled.

“She’s nervous,” he said about Clarke at Gaia’s expression.

“They both are, but they’re already acclimated. You should join them,” she smiled.

“Yeah. Thank you, Gaia. This means the world,” Bellamy smiled, watching his favorite woman and her favorite girl interact together, hoping to feel as strongly about Madi as Clarke does.

“Bellamy,” Clarke called and Bellamy looked to Gaia.

She handed the suitcase over to him and nodded. “Go, I’m happy for you guys and I’ll see you soon.”

Bellamy nodded and closed the door, setting the suitcase by the stairs and he headed over to the ladies in the living room.

“Madi, remember when we met, I told you that I have a husband who’s a teacher? This is him, this is Bellamy.”

“Hi,” he smiled, sitting in the chair across from them. He didn’t want to push, he didn’t know what kind of household she’s come out of. He knows the horrors of the foster system first hand.

His mother had left about a year after Octavia was born. It was the summer so Bellamy didn’t have school and they had enough food for a while so when they ran out, he knocked on the door of Mrs. Vera next door and she helped until she didn’t, she called the police and Bellamy and Octavia were bounced from foster home to foster home because no one wanted to take care of a one year old or the later of wanting the one year old and not her seven year old brother. Six months later they were back with Aurora and Bellamy never mentioned it to Octavia because she’s too young to remember.

He’d cover for Aurora after he started working for Pike, not knowing the full extent of the job, just knew that when Aurora was gone with whichever junkie boyfriend at the time he kept food on the table. He was a stupid naïve kid who didn’t even know he was in a gang. He turned eighteen and looked aurora in the eyes and told her that Octavia needed her and she couldn’t leave again. He scared the shit out of his own mother so he could get out of the life he was in, joined the military, just to get through college, but it was a way out. Had Atom and Mbege watching O and Aurora for him, hoping Pike didn’t do anything to her to get back at him. He wouldn’t rat, he knows better than to do that, but he also learned that Atom had ulterior motives, Mbege set him straight and brought Murphy into the fold.

Bellamy didn’t trust Murphy, but he half-trusted Mbege’s judgement and let it go but inquired an old one night-er and she kept him in the loop more than Mbege and Murphy did, but that’s probably because she didn’t work for Pike like they did.

“Hi,” Madi smiled warily. “You’re a teacher.”

“Fourth grade.”

“I—I’m going into fourth.”

“Good. I bet you’re smart, know your times tables?”

“Ask me anything,” she smiled, crossing her arms while squaring her shoulders.

Bellamy chuckled and looked to Clarke, “Eight times seven.”

Clarke scoffed.

“Fifty-six,” Madi smiled.

Bellamy nodded looking to Clarke, “Better than you.”

“You did that on purpose,” she chuckled.

“I couldn’t multiply by eight and he’s mocking me,” she told Madi.

“Does that happen a lot?”

“To an extent, we’ve known each other for ten years so it’s just a joke.”

“I’ve seen marriages with teasing like that and none of them ended well.”

“We’re not like that. It took us years to even admit to ourselves let alone each other.”

“I don’t want to see you break apart,” Madi frowned and Bellamy sighed.

“We won’t,” he told her sternly.

She looked to him and he knew she was uncertain. They have to prove to her that they’re meant to be together, that they love each other. Most importantly that they love her.

They fell into a relationship, they’d stumbled into an engagement, they’d found her by happenstance. They’re living life on the edge of their seats and they would never take any of it back.


End file.
